L.a. County Leaders Push New Safety Measures Inside Jails Amid Rising Inmate Deaths

Los Angeles County leaders are demanding nan Sheriff’s Department ramp up information measures wrong nan jailhouse strategy arsenic inmate deaths proceed to mount.

Ten group died wrong L.A. County jails successful nan first 2 months of this year, putting nan region connected way for different record-setting twelvemonth of in-custody deaths. Autopsies to find causes for each nan deaths are still pending.

County supervisors voted 4 to 0 connected Tuesday connected a motion, crafted by Supervisor Janice Hahn, requiring nan Sheriff Department return a bid of steps to trim inmate deaths, including expanding entree to nan overdose reversal supplier Naloxone, much intimately monitoring cameras and beefing up information checks.

“If we don’t reside this now, we will spot different grounds twelvemonth of deaths successful nan County jails — a grounds we do not want to repeat,” nan mobility stated.

The decease complaint has eclipsed nan gait of 2025, which saw 9 deaths by nan extremity of February. The twelvemonth ended pinch 46 in-custody deaths, a jump from nan 32 reported deaths successful 2024.

Supervisor Kathryn Barger abstained from nan vote, arguing nan region could not reside nan decease complaint without building a caller facility.

“We must beryllium honorable astir nan limitations of accommodation that were ne'er designed to location today’s population,” she said successful a statement. “I person consistently called for a modern replacement installation focused connected curen and rehabilitation because that is wherever nan existent solution lies.”

Sheriff Robert Luna conceded this period that 2026 was “not disconnected to a bully start.” He framed nan situation arsenic owed partially to nan truth that nan region was booking group who were older and sicker than anterior populations and needed much intensive attraction than could beryllium offered by nan jailhouse system. Four successful 5 group look a intelligence aliases beingness wellness issue, nan section said.

“Every clip I get notified that personification successful my attraction has passed away, it’s for illustration a footwear successful nan groin,” Luna said.

The section said successful a connection that it has “taken fierce action to forestall overdoses and violence,” but believes “no jailhouse strategy tin destruct each risks erstwhile group participate custody already critically ill.”

The supervisors voted much than 4 years agone to shut down Men’s Central Jail, a downtown installation notorious for vulnerable and deteriorating conditions, without building a replacement. Since then, inspectors continued to find a litany of problems wrong nan jail, including mildew and deficiency of food.

“The truth is that we request to adjacent down Men’s Central,” said Peggy Lee Kennedy, 1 of respective callers to nan committee gathering who urged nan region to velocity up nan closure. “Why are each these group surviving location pinch awesome intelligence wellness issues alternatively of getting nan thief they really genuinely need?”

The region continues to look aggravated scrutiny from nan authorities complete nan conditions wrong nan jail. California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta sued nan Sheriff’s Department successful September alleging that inmates “are forced to unrecorded successful filthy cells pinch surgery and overflowing toilets, infestations of rats and roaches, and nary cleanable h2o for drinking aliases bathing.”

Bonta alleged inmates were barred from intelligence and aesculapian care, starring to a “shocking complaint of deaths wrong nan jails, galore of which are caused by preventable circumstances, specified arsenic overdoses, suicides, aliases unit among incarcerated persons.”

Times unit writer Salvador Hernandez contributed reporting.